Miles
Wolff, the American Association commissioner, founded
the first modern independent league when six cities in
the Upper Midwest and Canada began play in the Northern
League in 1993. Under his leadership the Northern League
grew to 18 teams by 2002. He is currently also commissioner of the Can-Am League, an eight-team independent league located in the northeast United States and Québec. Wolff served as the commissioner of the Northeast League
from 2003-2004 and the Central League from 2002-2005.
Wolff was recently selected as the 79th most
important person in baseball history by John Thorn and
Alan Schwarz in the eighth edition of Total Baseball: The
Ultimate Baseball Encyclopedia. Total Baseball was launched
in 1989 and is the most compelling and exhaustive reference
series ever devoted to America's pastime. Aside from Thorn
and Schwarz, Phil Birnbaum, Bill Deane, Rob Neyer, Donald
Dewey, Nicholas Acocella, and Peter Wayner all contributed
to the most current edition.
He was recently selected as the one of the
best owners in sports by ESPN 25, a history of the network.
Written by Charles Hirshberg, the publication celebrates
ESPN's silver anniversary and includes lists of best sports
quotes, trades, draft-picks, nicknames, uniforms and much
more. In addition to Wolff's #8 ranking , the Top Ten Best
Owners List includes four Major League Baseball owners,
three National Football League owners and two National
Basketball Association owners.
Wolff entered baseball in 1971. His first
job was general manager of the Atlanta Braves Double-A
team in Savannah, Ga., where he was named The Sporting
News Class AA Executive of the Year. Later he was general
manager for teams in Anderson, S.C., and Jacksonville,
Fla. He has also served as the play-by-play announcer for
the Triple-A Richmond (Va.) Braves for one year.
In 1980, Wolff turned his attention to ownership.
He purchased a Carolina League franchise and re-started
the Durham (N.C.) Bulls. The team enjoyed tremendous local
success initially. Ten years and one Hollywood film later,
the Bulls became a national phenomenon.
Wolff has owned other professional baseball
teams in Butte, Mont., Asheville, N.C., Utica, N.Y., and
Pulaski, Va. He currently owns a team in Québec
City, Québec, and Burlington, N.C. He also once
owned the Raleigh (N.C) IceCaps hockey team. For 18 years
he was president and publisher of Baseball America, the
trade publication of professional baseball.
Wolff has written two books, Season
of the Owl (1980), a novel about minor league
baseball, and Lunch
at the 5 & 10 (1970), an account of the 1960
Greensboro sit-ins by black students at the Woolworth's
eatery. He is also the co-editor of the Encyclopedia
of Minor League Baseball (1997).
Upon graduating from Johns Hopkins University
with a degree in liberal arts, Wolff earned a master's
degree in southern history at the University of Virginia.
He served active duty as a supply officer in the U.S. Navy
from 1967-70 on the USS Charles P. Cecil (DD-835) and USS
Puget Sound (AD-38).
Dan
Moushon is the President of the American Association.
Moushon began his professional baseball
career for a South Atlantic League franchise in Charleston,
S.C., in 1988, moved to the Springfield (Ill.) Cardinals
of the Midwest League in 1989 and got his first general
manager post with the Watertown (N.Y.) Indians of the
New York-Penn League in 1992. He was also general manager
of the Fayetteville (N.C.) Generals (South Atlantic League)
from 1993-94 before taking a position as executive director
of the Northern League prior to the 1995 season. From
1998-2002 he was president of the Northern League and
was also president of the Northeast League in 2003-2004.
He served as the Vice President of Baseball Operations
for the Central League from 2002-2005. Since 1995, he
has served as the Vice President of the Burlington (N.C.) Royals. He served as the Appalachian League Corporate
Secretary from 1995-2001 and is currently a member of
the league’s executive committee. He is also President/COO
of the Can-Am League.
After graduating from Illinois State University
with a degree in management, Moushon received a master's
degree in sports management from Western Illinois University.
Kevin
Winn is the Director of Umpires
in the American Association. He serves in the same capacity
for the Can-Am League.
Winn began his professional umpiring career
in the Big South League for two years. His Division I collegiate experience includes working Mid-Continent Conference regular season games. He has also worked in the Dutch Major League in 2002-2003 and was selected to work playoff games for Division II and Junior College World Series. He served as the
supervisor of umpires for the Central League from 2001-2005.
Winn attended the Joe Brinkman Umpire School
in 1985 and is a graduate of Central Connecticut State
University.
Jason
Deans is in his third year as the Administrative Assistant for the American Association. He serves the same role for the Can-Am League.
Deans attended East Carolina University earning an undergraduate degree in Business Administration and a master’s degree in Exercise and Sport Science.
Upon graduating from East Carolina, Deans was an account representative for the Hickory (N.C.) Crawdads of the South Atlantic League. From 2004-2005, he worked with the Wilson Tobs of the Coastal Plain League as an operations manager and ticket office manager. Currently, he does work for the Raleigh and Morrisville Parks and Recreation along with the WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, NC.
Mailing and Street Address:
1415 Hwy 54 West
Suite 210
Durham, NC 27707
Telephone: (919) 401-8150
Fax: (919) 401-8152
Year
Founded: 2005
Directors: Jim Abel, Carl Bell, Roger Christoph,
Gary Elliston, Marv Goldklang, John Roost,
Lester Rosen, Mark Schuster, Quint Studer, Ben Zuraw.
2008 Opening Date: May 8
Closing Date: August 23
Regular Season: 96 games (split season)
Division Structure: North - Lincoln, St. Paul, Sioux City, Sioux Falls, Wichita; South - El Paso, Fort Worth, Grand Prairie, Pensacola, Shreveport
All-Star Game: July 22, 2008
Playoff Format: First-half division winners
play second-half division winners in best-of-five series.
Winners play for best-of-five American Association Championship.
Roster Limit: 22
Player Eligibility Rule: Minimum of five
first-year players; maximum of four veterans (at least
four years of professional service)
Brand of Baseball: Rawlings
Statistician: PA-Sportsticker,
55 Realty Drive,
Cheshire, CT 06410
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